Changes

Late last week I called my former officemate to see how everybody is doing. She told me that the group (which I left last April) is being disbanded, and they're all trying to find other jobs within the company. So I decided that having lunch with them would be better sooner than later. Lunch was today.

It's a strange thing coming back to visit only to find that things have changed so much. There was a reorganization back in April that put our group under the leadership of a department in the middle of the country. That department is doing its best to take over all the work that our group has done for years, and they've almost succeeded.

For me, the news is déjà vu all over again. At the job I had before this last one, we went through the Giant Sucking Sound of our work going to mid-America. Our mainframe IT department in California went from about 60 people to just a handful, even though we were convinced we were the better programmers and system designers than the folks Back East.

It's discouraging, as I face a job market that's shrinking around me. I need work so I can keep a roof over my head and go to school at night, but there are fewer and fewer options. I've got a few leads, though, and that's good.

Lunch itself was great, and so was seeing everyone again. After lunch, I made the rounds to catch up with other folks in the building, and I learned that more people followed my trip with my mom than I imagined. A couple times the conversation turned to chocolate, so I pointed them to my post on Lubec, Maine, and Monica's Chocolates website. I've decided that once I get a job, I'm going to order a box of the assorted truffles. And keep them for myself (one per day until they're gone).

But that's for later. First I need to get a job...